Visit to the Kona Library in Hawaii

Last week, when I was on the Big Island of Hawaii, I stopped in at the Kona Public Library to visit my friend Denise Stromberg. We met twelve years ago on my first visit to Kona. (I visit Kona every three years when my husband Art attends a conference there.) At that time she was the children’s librarian. Now she is the branch manager. We had a nice chat, caught up on news and then visited the children’s room and met Jen, the new children’s librarian. I saw that she has updated the children’s room with a reading nook with a comfy sofa for snuggling up with a book. When I left a boy was happily stretched out on the sofa and absorbed in a book.
I was also happy to discover that the Hawaii State Public Library system has 113 of my books in their libraries. Jen told me that the Kona library will soon be getting Hatching Chicks in Room 6. Hurray!

The bulletin board in the children's room featured poems in celebration of Poetry Month.

Author Visit and Book Signing at Overland School, Los Angeles, CA

With bags of signed books at Children's Book World ready to go to students at Overland School

Last week I did two presentations in the auditorium of Overland Avenue School for Advanced Studies in Los Angeles, California--one to the kindergarten students and one to the first and second graders. Both groups were enthusiastic audiences and had good comments and questions. Many of the children had purchased books to be autographed which I did afterward at Children’s Book World, a local bookstore. The books I signed were Hatching Chicks in Room 6, Wiggle and Waggle, and Living Fossils.

Overland Avenue Elementary School, Los Angeles, CA

My visit to Overland brought back many memories. My own children attended Overland forty years ago and I remember going to many events in the school auditorium–which has not changed in all these years. The library, on the other hand, has changed a lot, doubling in size and now with Mary Mittelbach, the librarian, running a wonderful library program. (In my day, the library was only open if a parent could be recruited to sit behind the desk and check out books. I was one of those parents. There was no school librarian.) I thank Mary for organizing my visit and doing such a great job promoting my books to the students. I had an impressive pile to sign when I went to Children’s Book World. Students received their books the following day. And I thank Sharon Hearn and her staff at Children’s Book World for ordering the books and helping to make the signing go quickly and smoothly.

Entrance to Children's Book World, Los Angeles, CA

Author Visit with Kindergarteners at Westwood Charter School in Los Angeles

Westwood Charter School, Los Angeles, CA

Yesterday I had a fun visit with the kindergarten students at Westwood Charter School in Los Angeles, California, and shared my book Hatching Chicks in Room 6. It was an appropriate choice because they are also hatching eggs–except that they have duck eggs in their incubator. Several of the eggs already had pips so it won’t be long before the ducklings hatch. (Duck eggs take 28 days to hatch whereas chicken eggs hatch in 21 days.) I had a lively discussion about birds with the students, showed them my feather collection, and measured their wingspans. I found out that they will be celebrating Audubon’s birthday later this month. At the end of my visit I read the first two stories of Wiggle and Waggle and the children helped me sing the song.
Thanks to kindergarten teacher Sherry Kaufman for inviting me to her classroom. I enjoyed my visit.

Further Reading about Chicks and Chickens

When you finish reading a book, are you curious to find out more?  At the back of many books these days you will find a list of further reading. In my book, Hatching Chicks in Room 6, I list four books:

Chicks and Chickens by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, 2004)

All about the behavior and development of chicks and chickens.

From Egg to Chicken by Anita Ganeri (Heinemann, 2006)

Life cycle of the chicken, illustrated with photographs.

Tillie Lays an Egg by Terry Golson, photographs by Ben Fink (Scholastic, 2009)

Fictional story about a chicken who lays her eggs everywhere but in the nest box.

Who You Callin’ Chicken? by Thea Feldman, photographs by Stephen Green-Armytage (Abrams, 2003)

Photographs of the amazing variety of chicken breeds.

Here are four more:

A Chicken Followed Me Home! Questions and Answers about a Familiar Fowl by Robin Page (Beach Lane Books, 2015

Egg: Nature’s Perfect Package by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (HoughtonMifflinHarcourt, 2015) 

Chicks! (Step into Reading) by Sandra Horning (Random House)

Busy Chickens by John Schindel (Knopf Books for Young Readers)